Saint Death's Herald
by C. S. E. Cooney
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Pub Date Apr 22 2025 | Archive Date Apr 21 2025
Rebellion Publishing | Solaris
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Description
Much-anticipated follow-up to the whimsical, joyous, zombie-packed World Fantasy Award-winning Saint Death's Daughter!
Lanie Stones is the necromancer Death has been praying for.
Heartbroken and exiled from her homeland as a traitor, Lanie Stones would rather take refuge in good books and delicate pastries than hunt a deathless abomination, but that is the duty she has chosen.
The abomination in question happens to be her own great-grandfather, the powerful necromancer Irradiant Stones. Grandpa Rad has escaped from his prison and stolen a body, and is heading to the icy country of Skakhmat where he died, to finish the genocide he started.
Fortunately for her, Lanie has her powerful death magic, including the power to sing the restless dead to their eternal slumber; and she has her new family by her side.
Grandpa Rad may have finally met his match.
Advance Praise
Praise for C. S. E. Cooney and Saint Death's Daughter:
“Saint Death’s Daughter is a tumultuous, swaggering, cackling story, a gorgeous citrus orchard with bones for roots. Miscellaneous Stones’ journey into adulthood and power, sorting knowledge from wisdom and vengeance from justice, has an ocean’s breadth and depth, its storms and sparkles and salt. Soaring with love and absolutely fizzing with tenderness and joy—I have never read anything so utterly alive.”—Amal El-Mohtar co-author of the multiple award-winning This is How You Lose the Time War.
“I loved Saint Death’s Daughter to pieces. I loved the world-building and the characters and the way that every time I thought I knew what kind of book it was, it changed. There was an ebullience to this book, in its world-building (with footnotes!) and its prose and its characters, that I found both delightful and compelling. I enjoyed it tremendously and look forward to the next installment in the adventures of Miscellaneous Immiscible Stones.”—Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor
“C.S.E. Cooney’s tale of a young necromancer allergic to violence is infused with brilliantly intricate world-building, dark humour, diverse characters and even a touch of whimsy. As Miscellaneous ‘Lanie’ Stones navigates her world of familial strife, both natural and supernatural, and her own burgeoning powers, you can’t help but learn to love death alongside her.”—Rhianna Pratchett
“Saint Death’s Daughter is a triumph of a book, gorgeous beyond measure, fizzing with Cooney’s love for language, her inventiveness in prose; it is also unbearably tender in how it addresses the idea of death and legacy, the love we can gather into a life before we curl to sleep in Death’s arms.” —Cassandra Khaw, author of The Salt Grows Heavy
“Saint Death’s Daughter is filled with lavish world building, lyrical prose, and characters to die for. C S.E. Cooney is a faerie queen barely trying to pass in the mundane world. This book is as luminous and flamboyant as she is.”—Tina Jens, award winning author of The Blues Ain’t Nothin’: Tales of the Lonesome Blues Pub
“Gorgeous, sexy, cruel and compassionate and funny. Such rich, delicious world-building and frankly lovable characters (even the baddies are compelling!). I relished every word.”—Liz Duffy Adams, author of Tremontaine and Whitehall
“Just as magical as I knew it would be. The compassion Claire has for her characters, the ways in which she draws the reader deep into her world, are peerless and divine. I could go on about the wonder of her prose, but I’d rather readers just dive straight in and discover it for themselves.”—Tiffany Trent, author of The Unnaturalists
“Saint Death’s Daughter is marvellous: it strikes an expert balance between light and dark, serious and ludicrous, and always keeps a wonderful, strong, queer energy about itself.”—Mike Brooks, author of The God-King Chronicles
“Wildly inventive.”—Buzzfeed
“Cooney’s prose is beautiful and intricate and glowing.”—The Colorado Sun
“Every character arrives in a burst: fully-realized, always finding their mark, dripping with detail and a fire in their heart.”—Tor.com
“Saint Death’s Daughter exemplifies what fantasy can do in the best of ways.”—Strange Horizons
“Grisly, dark, lovely, funny, heartfelt.”—Kirkus, starred review
“I can usually predict story beats long before they happen but the author managed to surprise me with the depth and complexity of the characters, especially the antagonists.” -- The Southern Bookseller Review
“Strange and magical adventures in a colorful world where most people are gender fluid, the gods are strange and death is not an ending.” -- Thornwell Books
“This is the weirdest book I have read in a long time – and yet it’s weirdness is charming. Somewhat reminiscent of What We Do in the Shadows or The Addams Family.” -- Booknest
“The novel complicates and recomplicates, always to its benefit. There’s a puppy! And there is suspense, and twists, and a satisfying resolution that gives no one all they want.” -- Black Gate
“I don’t want to tell you much about this book. I want you to experience it the way I did; a cake whose every layer is more delicious than the last; a gemstone that always has another glittering facet when you turn it over in your hands; a gift that never stops giving. This is a book you should go into unprepared – and unarmed.” -- Every Book a Doorway
“The broad aesthetic here is ‘whimsical gothic’: early chapters have a real Ghormengast-y vibe, which Cooney balances with a story that builds increasing nuance. Saint Death’s Daughter has gone straight to the favourites list, and I can’t wait to see where the adventures of Lanie take her.” -- Nerds of a Feather
“A beautiful, stunning work of literature, more art than words, and something that I recommend everyone reads.” -- Just Geeking By
“Lanie’s journey from a young woman to adulthood is compelling; the rise of her necromantic power and how she learns to wield it is enthralling. The world the author has built around Lanie is intricate and beautifully realised. It is a story that rewards the time invested in it.” -- British Fantasy Society
“I’ve never met a book that is so completely sure of itself. Cooney could have gone off on any tangent and I would have completely believed it. I loved Saint Death’s Daughter for its complexities and characters and chaos and I think this will remain one of my top reads of the year.” -- FanFiAddict
“C. S. E. Cooney is one of the most moving, daring, and plainly beautiful voices to come out of recent fantasy. She’s a powerhouse.” -- Catherynne M. Valente, NYT-bestselling author of the Fairyland novels
“A delicious stew of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, marked by unforgettable characters who plumb the depths of pathos and triumph.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Memorable prose propelled by extraordinary ideas… Twisted genius!” — Locus
"Newcomers will still find Cooney’s glittering narrative skills and vivid worldbuilding addictive, her diverse characters intriguing, and her message of justice and freedom stirring. This remarkable and richly detailed adventure is worth savoring." ― Publishers Weekly
"Highly original, mythic in scope, lyrically told, just plain fun." -- Nicole Kornher-Stace, author of Archivist Wasp
"Like one of her characters, C. S. E. Cooney is a master piper, playing songs within songs. Her stories are wild, theatrical, full of music and murder and magic.” -- James Enge, author of Blood of Ambrose
“Edgy, romantic, earthy, and colorful.“ -- Amy Goldschlager, Locus
""A rococo romp through strange and eerily familiar worlds."-- Erin Downey Howerton, Booklist
"The writing is dense with poetry, festooned to the eyelids -- occasionally to the gills and other body-parts -- with fantastic imagery that comes together in the end in unexpected and entirely satisfying ways." -- Patricia A. McKillip
"Is it extravagant? Yes. Does it flirt with camp? Oh, yes. Is it so beautiful, smart and joyful that I finished it gasping? Yes, yes, YES." -- Robert V.S. Redick, author of The Fire Sacraments Trilogy, and The Chathrand Voyage Quartet
"A story that is by turns sly, sensual, and surprisingly sweet, Cooney spins an unexpected tale with an absolutely perfect ending." -- Sharon Shinn, author of the Samaria series, and the Twelve Houses series
“CSE Cooney’s prose once again delivers on the promise of the wild magic and music. Saint Death's Daughter will leave you feeling she's actually summoned a new world, and you might just stumble upon it around the next corner. Glorious.”—Angela Slatter, award-winning author of All the Murmuring Bones
“C.S.E. Cooney has always been a consummate wordsmith, but with Saint Death’s Daughter she proves she’s a master of long form fantasy as well. Cooney sets her budding young necromancer adrift in a dazzlingly dark, weird, engaging and strangely warm world alive with memorable characters, hidden secrets and sinister intrigues. Everything, from tiny elements of characterization to overall pacing to information about the setting, is handled with a deft skill others should strive to emulate. This is a masterful work from a writer at the top of her game. I can hardly wait to see what she conjures next!”—Howard Andrew Jones, author of the Ring-Sworn Trilogy
“Sumptuous, bawdy and layered as a mille-feuille... this book is impossible not to devour.”—Lisa L. Hannett, author of Songs for Dark Seasons
"It feels like overhearing a convo between Terry Pratchett and Susanna Clarke. A total must if you dig footnotes or fantasy." -- Patty Templeton
“A giddy, glittering mosaic of incautious hope and over-generous loves.”—Kathleen Jennings, author of Flyaway
“A mind-spinningly original bit of worldbuilding, and an emotional arc so moving that I cried like a baby.”—Caitlyn Paxson
“Cooney’s prose, is a vast, note-perfect song. There’s no voice like it.”—Robert V. S. Redick, author of Master Assassins
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781837864492 |
| PRICE | CA$22.99 (CAD) |
| PAGES | 480 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Catarina S, Reviewer
Saint Death's Herald by C. S. E. Cooney is such a good book. It's a masterpiece! I just loved the storyline, the characters are fantastic. It's truly a masterpiece.
Reviewer 1306210
With Grandpa Rad freely roaming the world in Cracchen's body, Lanie and her family pause Makkovian's pilmigrage to hunt down and return his ghost to Saint Death. Leaving with just Duantri and Stripes, Lanie follows him north, where they finally believe they have cornered. He is, however, able to "jump ship" at the last minute and take over a skinchangers body, which is basically the worst-case scenario for Lanie. With Cracchen on the brink of death, Grandpa Rad heading for Leech to possess an even more powerful skin changer, and now the Storm of Souls bearing down on her Lanie is truly in the fight of her life.
While Herald isn't as light and feathery as Daughter was, it was still excellent. We get to truly see how much Lanie has grown over the last two books. She is so much more confident in herself and in the love and trust her family has in her. Not only that, she is absolutely badass. I mean she was in the first book but her abilities have just exploded in this one and it's not just that she's stronger but it is her love for the dead and her goddess and trust in her family and friends that allow her to do things that quite frankly Grandpa Rad would never even conceive. Makkovian explains it perfectly at one point by saying that Lanie just makes death seem friendly, and I think that sums it up perfectly.
The world is expanded upon as well as we learn more about the skin changers and the Skakdi in the one. I genuinely didn't even remember the skin changers being mentioned in the first one, so I'm glad we got a pretty in-depth course into who they are and how their magics work. And once again we have Lanie's infectious appreciation of anything new and novel that takes something that seems scary on the surface and makes it intriguing, it's just impossible to *not* be excited as she is to learn more about how skin changer magic works even if it seems very wrong on the surface.
Grandpa Rad is actually far worse than I could have possibly imagined, though. I mean far worse. The difference between how he wields his necromancy and how Lanie wields it are night and day, and I'm so glad we were able to clearly see that contrast here. Lanie is absolutely light and love and beauty, and that's always clear, but it becomes so much more clear when in direct opposition to Rad's violent, almost abuse of death. He simply doesn't care. The dead are a means to an end for him. When Lanie does finally put an end to everything, how she does it is such an important testament to who she is as a person and as a necromancer as well. It was a culmination of everything we knew Lanie to be, and it was beautiful.
What I really loved here, though, is Lanie expanding her group of friends and finding her place within it. She's absolutely gobsmacked at one point that it never even crossed her mind to just send letters to Hakken, and that's genuinely such a Lanie thing to do. Shes just a little bit outside of everyone else all of the time and by the end of Herald I think she found her place within her ever growing circle of friends and that she's finally comfortable in that spot. Comfortable enough that she actually goes back to Nurr on her own, and that seemed like a monumental step for me. I am very curious if we will ever pick up anything with Cracchen, though. I just really feel like there needs to be a morally gray character hanging around. With the changes he goes through in this book I definitely feel like he's no longer the evil assassin he was in the last book, but, he's also pragmatic enough to make the tough decisions Lanie wouldn't be able to.
Overall, I *hope* there's a book three. I want to continue to roam this world with Lanie and her family and friends and watch her grow as both a person and a necromancer. And yeah, of course I recommend this series! There is simply nothing else like it that I've ever found!
As always, thanks to NetGalley and Solaris
Michael P, Reviewer
Death is one of the great mysteries that has fascinated mankind throughout all our known history. Naturally, there’ve been no shortage of fantasy novels exploring it either. Necromancy is a way of exploring it in fantasy novels, and I’ve seen death and necromancy portrayed in so many ways in various settings. I’ve read about necromancers wielding death as a grim and terrible weapon, using their powers as a gruesome method of gleaning information from the dead, they’ve been solemn figures respectfully laying the dead to a final death, and I’ve even read about necromancers who use their mastery over death to act as supernatural lawyers.
But C.S.E. Cooney’s Saint Death series has probably been my favorite portrayal of death and necromancy that I’ve ever read. Here death is a tender comfort granted by a loving god. Here Lanie stones is a necromancer possessed of such overflowing compassion that she’s actually allergic to violence. And it’s just…such a comfortable thing to read. I adore how death is explored as a soothing balm. I love seeing how such a compassionate and pure protagonist moves through a world that does not deserve her. I love seeing how she continues to come into herself, and wield her necromancy in such a wonderful way. Her journey in this novel isn’t something to be missed.
Saint Death’s Herald is a book that, even at it’s most frenzied and chaotic, manages to remain soothing and comforting. It is a book where death is a link that allows love and compassion to flow back and forth between the necromancer and the dead. It is a balm for us readers stuck in a world that is so much harsher than the pages of this novel.
This novel is a wonderful adventure, and it is a gentle embrace that everyone deserves to languish in. Do yourself a favor and read this book, wrap yourself in its words and let them comfort you. You deserve it.
Phoebe A, Reviewer
Two months after the events of Saint Death’s Daughter, Miscellaneous Stones is upon a quest… to seek down her rogue ghost ancestor, Irradiant Stones, who has possessed the body of Cracchen Skrathmandan, to release “Grandpa Rad” to his long overdue rest, and to free Cracchen: as she promised to Sari, his mother.
But Grandpa Rad has no intention of going quietly.
What follows is a riotous, gloriously rendered tale, richly populated with characters both beloved and new. Lanie must follow her quarry into the dread lands of Leech, home of skinchangers; win challenges unheard of; wield magics ancient and experimental, and face both herself and her god.
Spiderwebbed with poetry, laced with verse, this is bouncingly robust prose, a feast of good things to consume. Written with gleeful verve, shivering with spooky anticipation and rich with delight, tenderness and romance, this is a story to love and devour - a triumphantly transformational epic.
featuring:
- the return of Underwear Stones, world’s best undead dog (He’s named after his primary diet)
- the return of Stripes, world’s best undead tiger rug
- Flying houses
- Romantic entanglements and passionate yearning
- Found family
- Magical duels
- Crimes against gods and men
- a kinda sexy crab (don’t ask
Rachel P, Reviewer
I saw the necromancer in the description and I knew I was sold on this story. The story is well written and the journey of the characters will have you puzzled yet hooked.
Kathryn M, Reviewer
This was a strong sequel in the Saint Death's Daughter series, it had that element that I was looking for from the first book. I thought the characters worked well and enjoyed had that necromancer element worked overall. It was such a great overall concept and was invested in what was happening. C. S. E. Cooney wrote this well and am excited for more.
Olivia W, Reviewer
Saint Death’s Daughter remains one of my favourite necromancy books despite strong competition in recent years, so I had high expectations for the sequel. I’m pleased to report that every one of them was met. Lanie Stones remains a beautiful, compassionate, distractable delight and the prose as always sings with unrestrained glee. It’s inventive , warm and optimistic as Lanie herself, and I loved it. My only complaint is that there isn’t a third book.
Abbey J, Reviewer
I loved Saint Death’s Daughter from the first moment I started reading the ARC I received from Netgalley, so it’s been a long, excited wait for Saint Death’s Herald – and it was absolutely worth the wait.
There’s more of all my favourite characters from the first book; Duantri and Tanaliin, Datu and Mak, the Skrathmandan family, Saint Death and the other gods, Lanie herself, of course, and even Grandpa Rad, who is the absolute worst but has such fun and takes such glee in being the worst that it’s impossible not to enjoy him. The only one who doesn’t show up much is Lir, whom I adored in the first book – but, of course, given what happened at the end means them being largely absent only makes sense. And what there is of them, when they do show up in the narrative, is just… *chef’s kiss*. Once again, the wait was entirely worth it!
And then of course there’s more of C. S. E. Cooney’s just blissfully gorgeous worldbuilding – Athe and its various cultures and societies and nations and people and cities and gods and magic is so rich, so layered, so varied and strange and ordinary and beautiful that it feels like a real world, a real planet full of real people. I think there’s something particularly special about seeing it through Lanie’s eyes, because she’s so utterly in love with her entire world, so thrilled to discover new things and learn about new people. Everything is interesting to her and everything that has even the slightest potential to be wonderful is wonderful to her, and it makes travelling with her a constant joy.
Especially I loved the way the world is expanded in this book – the author isn’t just satisfied with the glorious, delicious delights she’s already given us, she brings in whole new ways of doing magic, whole new societies and ways of being a person. I could eat it with a spoon!
And all of this fabulous fascinating detail is hung on a plot that’s simple, yet entirely compelling: find Grandpa Rad and stop him. The complications that happen kept me on the edge of my seat and the way the story was finally resolved was so satisfying and opens up so many intriguing questions about where the story will go next. I love this world, and I love these characters, and I would happily read new stories about them for the next thirty years if C. S. E. Cooney so desires!
Other things I loved about this book but only get an honourable mention because otherwise this review would be as long as a novella:
- Stripes!!!!! I love that lil undead tiger rug nearly as much as Datu does, what a good good boy
- Datu using the Worst Word and the adults finding it hilarious
- the whole skinchanger idea, and their culture, and the characters there, and oh, I hope we come back to them because they’re just so fascinating!
- The love and adoration and gentleness with which death is treated, like it’s something just as wonderful and precious as life, and when you’re reading this book, you really do feel that way
- the twelve apologies!!! I was so thrillied to get a list of them at the end of the book and I love them so so much and I wish English had a list of apologies like that because I think we could use them
- Mister Underwear Stones, another good, good boy
- Lanie being terrible with heights and yet constantly being forced to transport herself in various flying devices
- Hakken!
- Saint Death/Doedenna’s various forms throughout the book; she’s so tender and loving and I would like to be loved by her
- I’m super excited to obtain and listen to the audiobook, the author reading the first book is just wonderful and I know this one will be equally gorgeous
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
Jill H, Reviewer
This was a wonderful continuation of the storyline after Saint Death's Daughter. I was so excited to be back in this world and Saint Death's Herald didn't disappoint. It's just as beautifully written and I loved every bit.
Kirsty M, Reviewer
I loved book one in this series and so I was so excited to get to read and review book 2 and it wasn't a let down at all. It continued perfectly, I couldn't put it down and I didn't want it to end
Abbie R, Reviewer
Oh YES!! this book is absolutely amazing. I was so glad to get the review copy of the second book after devouring the first in a weekend. This book is just as interesting and fun and immersive as the first. Cooney is quickly becoming a favorite author. As with the first book character development is great and world building is done excellently.
Reviewer 723900
CSE Cooney did it again, a beautiful, lush and lyrical fantasy novel mixing the exactly right dose of gothic and whimsy.
This second volume in Saint Death's world goes deeper into the lore and lets Leni discover and accept more of herself.
The plot itself is less surprising than in the first, and arguably covers less grounds than the first one, but it gives just as much in terms of found family, acceptance, embracing our differences, duty, growth, and just makes me impatient to see the third book.
I am also one of the big fans of friendship books versus romance, especially in adult books, and while this book is absolutely brimming with love, it is very much all about family and friendships.
If you haven't read the first book, get it now, it's a beautiful wild ride.
Rebecca M, Reviewer
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this arc
I was so excited to read what happens next; how Lanie would defeat her Great Grandpa Rad because she has to right?
We get to learn more about about Irradiant Stones to see how he came to be how he is as a person/ghost.
We get to interact with old characters and even get some more background on them as well.
The ending is chefs kiss
Hannah K, Reviewer
I continue to be stunned by the lyricality of Cooney's prose, and to see how she chooses to focus on the more alien consciousnesses here and the sheer absurdity of how necromantic powers can work (limestone!!!) as Lanie's story continues to unfold is amazing. There's more to come the way it looks, and I can't fucking wait to see where it goes. Pick this up and read the book before, Saint Death's Daughter, and enjoy the sheer wonderland of the prose.
The_Secret_Bookreview ., Reviewer
Saint Death’s Herald by C. S. E. Cooney is a delightful and fast-paced fantasy book filled with quirky characters, dark magic, and plenty of adventure. Lanie Stones, a necromancer with a passion for books and pastries, is called upon to serve Doédenna, the god of Death. While Lanie may not be the most traditional necromancer, her growing powers and her ability to lay the unrestful dead to their slumber make her the one person capable of stopping her powerful great-grandfather, the necromancer Irradiant Stones.
Irradiant’s goal is nothing short of world domination, and Lanie is the only one who can stop him. Along the way, Lanie embarks on an epic road trip across the realms with an unlikely group of companions, including an undead flying tiger rug and a former enemy-turned-ally. Their journey takes them through strange and dangerous lands, from negotiating with witches to saving missing children, all while staying one step behind her devious grandfather.
This book is an enjoyable escape into a vibrant fantasy world. It may not be the most complex work of fantasy, but it delivers a fun, engaging adventure with plenty of heart and humour. If you’re looking for a light-hearted, action-packed read with a touch of magic and a lot of charm, Saint Death’s Herald is a must-read.
Read more at The Secret Book Review.
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